NCAA Slates "NIL" Proposal For Vote

As part of its continuing effort to address student-athlete compensation issues, the NCAA Division I Council last week approved and introduced into its 2020-21 legislative cycle a proposal (the "Proposal") that would allow student-athletes, under certain circumstances, to profit off of the exploitation of their names, images, and likenesses ("NIL" and sometimes known as the "right of publicity").¹ The Proposal is subject to review and comment by the Division I Council until January 2021, when it will be voted on at the NCAA Convention. If approved, the Proposal will go into effect on August 1, 2021, the start of the next academic year.²

The Proposal³

The Proposal is a significant but not unexpected step in the NCAA's plan to modernize its rules concerning compensation of student-athletes. In April of this year, the NCAA Board of Governors announced its support for a similar proposal and called for each NCAA division to provide their input by the end of